Power-take-off mechanism for motor vehicles



March 18, 1924. 1,487,445

H. s. DICKINSON POWER TAKE-OFF MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Oct. 24, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w yzv /6 March 18 1924. I 1,487,445

H. S. DICKINSON POWER TAKE-OFF MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Oct. 24, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [/r Men i011 Ha /0 y 5 19% mum:

Patented Mar. 18, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY S. DICKINSON, OI IOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY mun ASSIGN'IIIEVZl', '.I'.'O HOLIN'E COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF HOLINE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.-

POWEE-TAKE-OFI' FOB IOTOB VEHICLE.

Application filed October 24, 1918 Serial No. 383,001. v

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY S. DICKIN- son, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Is- 6 land and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Power-Take-Ofi Mechanism or Motor Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

tions conformable to the structural require-. men-ts of motor vehicles of standard type, by which power nerated by the motor can be made availab e for use, particularly on 16- farms, either as .a means for operating pumps, feed cutters, saws, or like farm equipment ordinarily operated from a sta tionary power plant, or which can, be availed of for use concurrently with the driving of-the vehicle, as. a means for operatingthe conveyor and beater of a manure spreader, or for other like purpose associated with the manipulation of movable farm vehicles or implements. In short, the

5 object and purpose of the present invention is to so arrange the wer take-off that it may be employed ind pendently of the transmission of power for the driving of the vehicle but controlled by the same gear shift mechanism ordinarily employed for that purpose; The invention therefore consists 1n certain attachments to the transmission gears and gear shift lever so arranged .asnot to require any substantial modification of the structure of either of these standardized mechanisms, thereby enabling the operator to drive the vehicle and to manipulate the power take-01f by means of an ordinary gear shift lever universally employed in motor vehicles of standardized In the drawings: a

Figure 1 'is a view of the chassis of an automobile showing the gear box broken away, and showing thepower connections of the present invention applied to gearing of standard type;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the gear shift lever. with the control devices of the present. invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail through the This invention relates to certain connec control shaft upon which the gear shift lever is mounted;

Fig. 4 is a view of a chassis showing a modification in the connections for the urpose of taking power from the crank aft of the; motor. I

In the drawings, A indicates the motor casing, and B the transmission casing of a motor .vehicle of the usual type, the gear casing being broken. away to show the interior arrangement of the transmission gears. The power from the en no is transmitted through the usual clutc appliances,

not shown, to a preliminary drivin gear 4.

This gear is in constant mesh wit a secondary driving gear 5 mounted upon a eountershaft 6 of the usual character; The preliminary driving gear 4 sockets the forward end of a transmission shaft which afiords the driving connection through the customary universal joint and differential -ar to the rear axle, these latter devices 'ng of the ordinary standardized construction.

The countershaft 6 has ri 'dly mounted thereon the gears 8 and 9, t e former cooperating with the, slidably mounted gear, 10 on the transmission shaft, and the latter co-operating with the slidably mounted 'gear 11 onthe transmission shaft. The

sliding gear 10 and the reliminary gear 4 are provided with co-actihg clutch faces 12 in t e usual manner. These ar ratios are all standard and will be fu y understood by-all" those conversant with motor car construction, and are adaptedto impart three speeds forward and reverse speed when brought into varying relations with one another so that the countershaft will baconstantly rotated.

First speed ahead is secured by throwing the gear 11 into mesh withgear 9 ontlie countershaft; second speed, by throwing gear 10 into mesh with gear 8; third speed,

by throwing gear 10 into mesh with-gear 4; and reverse ,by throwing gear 11 into mesh with an intermediate gear- 13 .constantly in .train with a gearv 14 on the countershaft. These adjustments are efiected by means of the usual shifting fingers 15 and 16 carried by slide bars 17 and 18 respectively. The slide bar 17 is provided in its center with a recessed lug 19, and the slide bar 18 with a similar recessed lug 20, which lugs, best shown in Fig.2, stand in transverse ali nment with the lower end 21 of the gear s 'ft lever 22 when the latter occupies the neutral position. The gear shift lever is divided at its fulcrum point 23 to embrace a collar 24 rotatably mounted upon a control shaft 25, the lever being trunnioned on the collar by means of aligned oppositely disposed pivot pins 26, the arrangement being one which ermits the gear shift lever to be moved orward and back and also to be shifted laterally to throw its operating lower end into engagement with either of the recessed lugs on the slide rods in order to effect a fore and aft movement of either of the slide rods, depending upon the gear adjustment desired.

The slide rod 17 is provided with the inwardly projecting finger 15, the inner end of which engages a collar 28 on the gear 11, and in like manner the shaft 18 is provided with the inwardly projecting finger 16 which engages a collar 30 on the gear 10, the arrangement being such that when the gear shift lever is thrown laterally in either direction from the neutral position and thereafter moved in either a fore or aft direction, the desired gear adjustment will be eifected.

The gear shift lever projects upwardly through the usual H plate 31, the various gear adjustments being indicated by the numerals 1, 2, 3, and the letter R on the surface of the plate. The above mechanisms find their counterpart orequivalent in most motor vehicles of modern construction, and the application of the present invention to these mechanisms involves no change or modification whatsoever in the construction or mode of operation of the gear shifting devices.

The-present invention is designed to utilize power derived either from the i 'constantly rotating countershaft 6, as in Fig. 1, or from the constantly rotating crank shaft 32, and to control the utilization of this power by suitable manipulation of the gear shift lever without interfering with the functions of the latter when controlling the forward and reverse movements of the vehicle. With this end in view, as shown in Fig. 1, the countershaftfi has loosely mounted thereon a bevel pinion 33 which may be clutched to the shaft by the initial movement of a sliding dog clutch member 34, which is keyed to the shaft and is operable by the movement of the inner arm 35 of a bell crank lever 36, the outer arm 37 of which terminates at a point in transverse alignment with the recessed lugs 19-20 when the same stand in neutral position.

, The bevel pinion 33 is in constant mesh with a bevel pinion 38 on the inner end of a power take-off shaft 39, which may carry a power pulley 40 or chain and sprocket connections 41 or a combination of the two, or any other suitable transmission devices for utilizing power derived from the Vehicle shaft 25 upon which the gear shift lever is mounted.

In the ordinary operation of the motor vehicle, and when it is not desired to utilize the power take-off of the present invention,

the arm 44 will be maintained in vertical relation with respect to the link 42,- and this relation of the parts has the effect of thrusting the inner end of the bell crank lever inward-1y the maximum distance, thereby holding. the dog clutch 34 out of clutching relation with respect to the bevel pinion 33. It is evident, however, that a rocking movement of the arm 44 in either direction will have the effect of drawing back the inner end of the bell crank lever, thereby throwingthe opposite end of the lever inwardly, with the result that the dog clutch will be thrown into locked relation with the bevel pinion 33, and ower from the constant] 1 rotating shaft imparted to the take-oif s aft 39.

The means for imparting a rocking movement to the control shaft 25 will now be described. The collar 24 on the shaft 25 1S provided with an arm 45 which provides lower end of which is provided with a tooth 47 which is adapted to be thrown into enof the bell crank lever46 .has connected a mounting for a bell crank lever 46, the Y thereto a latch rod 50, which in turn coni vided, which will now bedescribed. The

constantly rotating crank shaft 32 is provided with a bevel pinion 53 which meshes with a bevel pinion 54 loosely mounted upon the inner end. of a power -takeofl shaft 55, and adapted to be clutched therewith through the action of a dog clutch 56 ,con-

trolled by a bell crank lever'57 0 rated by a draw rod 58 which is ivo to an arm 59 mounted u on a rock s aft 60. The arm 59 correspon s in function and operation with the arm of the ,bell crank lever already described, and the rock shaft has secured thereto an arm correspond ing in all res ts to the inner arm 37 of the bell cra lever previously described.

This arrangement constitutes in effect a bell crank lever, one arm of which isofiset with respect to the other and located outside of .the gear casing, but. the action vi's precisely the same as that heretofore described.

In 0 ration when it is desired to drive the ve 'cle without utilizing the power takeofi' features, the thumb latch 51 is allowed to remain in the retracted position shown and the gear shift lever can thus be moved back and forth and shifted from side to side in the ordinary way without imparting any rotative movements'to the control shaft"; 25 and without disturbing the vertical position of the depending arm 44 so that full control of the gear transmision for the vehicle can be maintained in the usual way without utilizing ,the special features of the present invention, When, however, it is desired'to operate the power take-ofi shaft, with the engine running and thrown out of clutch with the transmission, the thumb latch will be depressed thereby throwing the bell crank lever tooth .47 into engagement with'the recess 48 in the collar 49 on thecontrol shaft, and with the connection thus established the gear "shift lever can be moved out of neutral and thrown to an one of its fore and aft positions, after w ich the thumb latch may be released and the gear shift lever thrown back to neutral position, leaving the power take-oil connections in clutched relationship with -the countershaft. Thereafter, when the main clutch pedal is released, the engine will constantly drive the countershaft, irrespective of any gear shifting manipulation of the gear shift lever, so that the engine power can be utilized with the motor vehicle standing stationary, or with the motor vehicledriven, depending u ion the character of the work requ red.

Thereafter, when it is desired to disenower take-off mechanisms, thes the engine can unclutched, as s customary in the shifting of automobile gears, the gear shift lever rocked forward or back as the case ma be to a position in which the bell crank ever tooth will again engage the notched collar on the control shaft 25, after which engagement, by means of the thumb latch, the control lever can be turned back to neutral position, disengaging the power take-off and restoring the parts to initial position. r

It will observed that the operations at- .whic the power is utilized part1 tending the clutching and unclutching of the power take off train-are similar to those which attend the ordinary manipulation of the gearshift lever, that is to say, rior to each adjustment the engine clutch wi be disengaged and the new. adjustment effected before reclutchingthe parts with the engine, the only difference in the present case being i that the thumblatch will be depressed con tion with mechanisms which are mountedand transported with the vehicle itself, such, for instance, as manure spreading. appliances, body hoist mechanism for the dischar e of grain or coal, or combinations in I in connection with devlces on-the ve 1016' and partly in connection with devices like grain oists which are separate and apart from the vehicle itself. a It willbeseen from the foregoing description that the present invention is one which enables the owner of an automobile or motor truck of the usual type to utilize power derived therefrom in a large number of ways, and to control the utilization of such power by the usual and ordina lever apliances customarily provided or controling the movements of the vehicle itself, and

withoutmodification of such devices, and

with but slight addition thereto.

1 claim: 1. In a power-take-ofi mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a mam transmission shaft, a counter-shaft,"

gears on the respective shaftsadapted to establish varying s d ratios, a gearshift lever movable to different positions to vary the speed ratios, connections for varying the gear ratios b movements of the lever, a

ower-take-o shaft, and means for entraining the power-take-ofi shaft by movements ofv the gearshift lever to its positions for varying the gear ratios of the transmission.

2. In'power take-ofi' mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a main transmission shaft, a coimtershaft, gears on the res tive shafts adapted to establish varying speed ratios, a gear shift lever, connections for varying the gear ratios by movements of the lever, a power take-oif-shaft, and means for rentrainmg the power takeoff shaft by movements 'cf the gearshift lever, said means comprisin latch mechanism carried by the gear s ift lever and adapted to lock said lever to the donnections provided for entraining the power take-off shaft, substantially as described.

3. In power take-off mechanism for motor vehicles,'the combination of a motor, a main transmission shaft, a countershaft, gears on the respective shafts adapted to establish varying Speed ratios, a gear shift lever mounted for lateral and fore and aft movement for effecting varying gear ratios, a rock shaft upon which the gear shift lever is adapted to swing, latch mechanism for locking the gear shift lever to the rock shaft, a power take-off shaft, means for entraining the power take-ofi shaft with the motor, and connections between the rock shaft and said entraining means for actuating the latter by movements of. the gear shift lever when latched to the rock shaft, substantially as described.

4. In power take-01f mechanism for motor locking the gear shift lever to the rock shaft,

a power take-off shaft, gears for entraining the power take-off shaft with mechanism driven by the motor, a clutch for making and breaking connection between said gears and said motor driven mechanism, lever mechanism for actuating said clutch, and connections between said lever mechanism and said rock shaft for clutching the parts when the rock shaft is latched to the gear shift lever and the latter is moved from neutral position, substantially as described.

5. In power take-off mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a main transmission shaft, a countershaft, gears on the respective shafts for establishing varying speed ratios, a pair of slide. bars, arms on the slide bars for effecting adjustments of the gears, a gear shift lever adapted to be swung laterally to effect engagement with either of the slide bars and adapted to be swung in a longitudinal direction to effect, a shifting of the intended gear, a rock shaft upon which the gear shift lever is mounted, an arm depending from the rock shaft, latch mechanism'carried by the gearshift lever for locking the latter to the rock shaft, a

'power take-off shaft, gears for entraining the power take-01f shaft with the mechanism driven by the motor, a clutch for'eflecting such entraining, and connections between said clutch and said depending arm for looking the clutch by-afore and aft movement ing speed ratios, a pair of slide bars, arms on the slide bars for effecting adjustments of the gears, a gear shift lever adapted to be swung laterally to efiect enga ement with either of the slide bars and adapted to be swung in a longitudinal direction to effect a shifting of the intended gear, a rock shaft upon which the'gear shift lever is mounted, an arm depending from the rock shaft', latch mechanism carried by the gear shift lever for locking the latter to the rock shaft, a power take-off shaft, gears on the power take-off shaft and the countershaft respectively, one of said gears being loosely mounted, a clutch for lockingthe loose gear to the shaft on which it is mounted, and connections between said clutch and said depending arm for operating the clutch by'a fore and aft movement of the gear shift lever when latched to the rock shaft, substantially as described.

7. In power take-0d mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a main transmission shaft, a countershaft, gears 0n the respective shafts for establishing varying speed ratios, a pair of slide bars, arms on the slide bars for effecting adjustments of the gears, a gear shift lever adapted to be swung laterally to eflect engagement with either of the slide barsand adapted to be swung in a longitudinal direction to effect a shifting of the intended gear, a rock shaft upon wh1ch the gear shift lever is mounted,

an arm depending from the rock shaft, .latch mechanism carried by the gear shift lever for locking the latter to the rock shaft, a power take oif shaft, gears on the power take-off shaft and the countershaft respectively, one of said gears being loosely mounted, a clutch for locking the loose gear to the shaft on which it is mounted, and connections between said clutch and said depending arm for. locking the clutch by a fore and aft movement of the gear shift lever when latched to the rock shaft, said connections comprising a bell crank, one arm of which engages the clutch, and a link connecting the other bell crank arm with the depending arm, said link being positioned to move the bell crank lever when the depending arm is swung .in either direction, substantially as described.

8. In power take-off mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a transmission shaft, a I series of gears for effecting difl'ering gear ratios between the motor and the transmission shaft, a gear shift lever for said gears, power take-off mechanisms, means for entraining said power take-off mechanisms with one of the motor driven elements, clutch elements for efiectin said entraining, and levers and connections between said clutch elements and said gear shift lever adapted to 'be thrown into latched relation therewith for effecting clutching and unclutching operations by movements of the gear shift lever, substantially as described.

10. In ower take-off mechanism for motor vehicles, the combination of a motor, a transmission shaft, a series of gears for effecting differing gear ratios 'between the motor and the transmission shaft, a gear shift lever for said gears, power take-off mechanisms, means for entraining said takeoff mechanisms with one of the motor driven elements, clutch mechanism operable by movements of the gear shift lever for effecting a clutching of the power take-off mechanisms, clutch elements for effecting said entraining, a latch carried by the gear shift lever, and connections between said latch and said clutch elements for'effecting clutch ing and unclutching thereof by movements of the gear shift lever, substantially as described.

11. An automotive vehicle having a power plant, transmission mechanism, means operable by a single lever movable to various positions for controlling the transmission, a power-takeoff mechanism, and means for rendering 'the lever operative to control the power-takeoff mechanism by movements to one or more of its various positions for controlling the transmission.

12. An automotive vehicle-having a motor, transmission mechanism, means including a gear shift lever movable to various positions for controlling the transmission mechanism, power-take-ofl' mechanism, andmeans operable b the gear shift lever by movements of t at lever into one or more of its positions for controlling the. transmission mechanism for throwing the power-take-ofi' mechanism into and out of o eration, said means permitting the gear shift lever to be used to shift the transmission without disturbing the poWer-take-ofi' mechanism.

13. An automotive vehicle having a power plant, transmission mechanism, a powertake-off, and means operable by a single lever for starting and stopping the owertake-off and for subsequently controlhn the transmission with the power-take-off elther in operation or out of operation.

14. An automotive vehicle having a motor, a transmission mechanism, means including a gear shift lever for controlling the transmission, a power take-off mechanism, and means operable by the gear shift lever for controlling the power take-off mechanism arranged so that the power take-01f mechanism may be thrown into operation by movements of the gear shift lever in either direction from neutral.

15. An automotive vehicle having a motor, a transmission mechanism, means including a gear shift lever for controlling the transmission mechanism, a power take-off mechanism, and means operable by movements of the gear shift lever in "either direction from neutral to throw the power take-ofl mechanism into operation, said means being arranged so that the gear shift lever may thereafter be used to control the transmission without affecting the powertake-olf mechanism. 4

HARRY S. DICKINSON. 

